Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for automatically unloading trash, garbage or refuse from a truck. More particularly, the invention relates to a truck dumping apparatus which is characterized by a single or double-member sled having an articulated bottom or frontal opening and mounted on the bed of a flatbed or pick-up truck. A cable extends from attachment to the cab end of the sled, to a sled guide which is pivotally attached to the truck and receives a traveling block which travels on the cable and is secured to a pair of spaced tire chains for deployment beneath the rear wheels of the truck. Operation of the truck in reverse gear causes the rear wheels to traverse the tire chains and pull the sled from the truck bed responsive to movement of the cable through the traveling block. As the sled tilts from the truck bed, the articulated bottom or front opening allows the contained trash, garbage or refuse to empty from the sled. Operation of the truck in the forward direction allows the sled to be manually repositioned on the truck bed, the tire chains to be deployed on the rear of the truck and the sled guide to be folded upwardly, to present the truck in traveling configuration.
One of the problems realized in dumping trash, garbage and refuse from the beds of pick-up trucks and flatbed trucks is that of physically moving the material from the truck to the dump site. In most cases, this is achieved by manual labor, using shovels or other tools to slide the material from the truck bed to the ground behind the truck. The procedure is both expensive and time-consuming, since at least one laborer must be present in order to accomplish the task.
Various apparatus are known in the art for discharging cargo from a truck bed by displacing a container or a support for the load from the truck. In most cases, winches and other cable-related devices are normally used to accomplish moving of the container or support rearwardly of the truck. Early U.S. Pat. No. 154,704, dated Sept. 1, 1874 to J. Mills, is entitled "Dumping-Wagons". The patent discloses a wagon having a wagon bed with a hinged inclined portion and a cart which is mounted by means of rollers on the bed of the wagon. The cart can be lowered down the inclined portion of the bed using a cable and winch system, in order to load and unload various products carried in the cart. U.S. Pat. No. 1,404,069, dated Jan. 17, 1922, to D. E. Swinehart, details a "Loading and Unloading Truck". Like the "Dumping-Wagons" patent, the Loading and Unloading truck includes a truck bed fitted with a pivoting container which is operated by means of a cable and multiple rollers mounted on the truck bed. When the container needs to be unloaded, it is disposed rearwardly of the truck bed to the approximate midpoint of the container at a point of pivot where the container is pivoted downwardly for unloading purposes. The container is then retracted into its original traveling position, using the cable. U.S. Pat. No. 1,567,478, dated Dec. 29, 1925, to E. Vonnez, et al, details a "Loading Device for Vehicles". The loading device is characterized by a movable carriage adapted for loading and unloading on the bed of a truck by means of a cable and winch mechanism. A
"Self-Loading and Unloading Truck" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,740, dated May 23, 1950, to N. F. Alvare. In this patent, a skid is mounted by means of a cable on the back or bed of a truck which is designed to be loaded and unloaded from the bed by operation of the cable. U.S. Pat. No. 2,808,159, dated Oct. 1, 1957, to C. E. Beltran Simo, details a "Movable Platform for Self-Unloading Vehicles". The platform is articulated, in order to facilitate loading and unloading from the bed of a truck and is driven by means of gears to the unloaded and loaded configurations, respectively. A "Truck Having Removable Body" is detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,811,269, dated Oct. 29, 1957, to F. P. Anderson, et al. The removable body is movably supported by a bed or chassis and is maneuvered into and out of the bed by means of a chain and sprocket system, in combination with a system of cables.
The above innumerated art details several load-carrying devices which use winch and cable systems, as well as chain drive mechanisms, to accomplish movement of a container or support to and from a stationary truck bed. However, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved truck dumping and unloading apparatus which is operated by displacing a refuse, garbage, trash or load-carrying container rearwardly of the truck by reverse operation of the truck itself.
Another object of this invention is to provide a truck dumping and unloading apparatus which is characterized by an open-top, single or double-member sled mounted on the bed of a truck and a sled guide fixedly attached to the rear of the truck, with a cable extending from the bottom of the double-member sled around the sled guide to a pair of tire chains or friction mats wherein the sled can be displaced from the truck bed by reverse operation of the truck.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved truck dumping or unloading apparatus which is characterized by a single or double-compartment, open-top sled mounted by means of rollers on the bed of a pick-up truck or flatbed truck, a sled guide provided with a pair of spaced pulleys pivotally fixed to the rear of the truck, a cable having one end attached to the cab end of the sled and extending around the pulleys in the sled guide and the opposite end receiving a traveling block, with a pair of tire chains or friction mats attached to the traveling block, such that the sled may be dumped or unloaded from the bed of the truck by operation of the truck rearwardly as the rear tires of the truck traverse the parallel tire chains or friction mats.